An inmate at Staton Correctional Facility has tested positive for tuberculosis.
Prison medical staff say the inmate has been quarantined and is being treated in an infirmary.
Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Bob Horton says the state Department of Public Health is testing all inmates at Staton for tuberculosis, but he says as of now there have been no other cases reported.
As a precaution, Staton inmates are not being allowed outside the facility for activities such as supervised work details until they're cleared by state public health officials. But inmates are allowed all movement inside the prison and are continuing their daily schedules.
A new report card has poor marks for Alabama when it comes to high schools giving girls equal opportunities in sports.
The study is by the National Women’s Law Center. It says Alabama is 49th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a 58% gender equity gap when it comes to Title IX sports.
Eight states in the south rank in the bottom ten of the survey. Neena Chaudhry is the Director of Equal Opportunities in Athletics at the NWLC. She says that’s no coincidence.
“Where football is very prominent, schools have to take a really hard look and make sure they’re providing girls with the same kinds of opportunities to play sports and get the same benefits that the boys get. What our data shows is that across the country, girls are not getting enough opportunities to play sports.”
Chaudhry says sports provide lifelong benefits for girls, including better health and academic performance. Chaudhry challenges high schools in Alabama to take closer look at their programs to close that gender-equity gap.
People who sell fireworks here in Alabama are waiting to see what a new law in Georgia does to their bottom line. APR’s Pat Duggins reports the sale of things that go snap, crackle, and pop is becoming legal in the Peach State.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed a bill last month that makes it legal to sell fireworks in his state. That has fireworks vendors along Alabama’s border with Georgia wondering what that will mean with the Fourth of July coming up.
The new law says people who sell fireworks in Georgia need to buy a license fee of $5000 for a brick and mortar store, and $500 for a temporary fireworks stand. Roman candles, sparklers, and other fireworks can’t be sold in school zones or at school functions.
One thing that has Alabama fireworks sellers breathing a little easier is Georgia’s tax rate. It’s up to 12% there, compared to Alabama’s 8%. That could keep Georgians coming over the border for their Roman candles and sparklers.